Furniture comprising at least one second furniture part which can be motor-driven in relation to a first furniture part

ABSTRACT

An article of furniture ( 11, 11′, 11″ ) has a first furniture part and at least one second furniture part that can be motor-driven in relation to the first furniture part. The at least one second furniture part may be a drawer ( 2; 13, 14, 15; 19, 20, 24 ) that can be displaced in relation to at least one body ( 1; 16; 21, 22, 23 ) of the first furniture part. An electric power supply device is arranged on the first furniture part. A control device may be provided to stop the moveable second furniture part from displacing from its initial position into its final position before it is displaced as far as an immediately adjacent moveable furniture part that is already in an open position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a national stage application (under 35 U.S.C. § 371) of PCT/EP2007/003061, filed Apr. 4, 2007, which claims benefit of German application 10 2006 016 102.5, filed Apr. 4, 2006.

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a furniture article, comprising at least one second furniture part, which can be motor-driven in relation to a first furniture part, in particular comprising at least one drawer, which can be displaced in relation to a body, and comprising at least one energy supply unit, in particular an electric power supply unit.

BACKGROUND ART

This type of furniture already exists in a variety of designs. For example, the DE 699 06 299 T2 describes a furniture article comprising a plurality of drawers, which are mounted in the furniture body in such a way that they can be displaced by motor drive. According to this invention, the furniture article is equipped with a bus system, by means of which the energy supply for moving the individual drawers is controlled. To this end, an integrated circuit is instructed by way of a computer to execute certain operations. In this case the energy is supplied centrally through a power supply unit, associated with the computer.

In the case of this prior art furniture article comprising various vertically and horizontally adjacent drawers, there is also the risk that opening or closing the drawers may cause injuries, in particular, may crush the operator's fingers. For example, such injuries may occur upon opening a drawer, when a vertically, horizontally or diagonally adjacent drawer is already open. If, for example, the additional drawer that is to be opened moves beyond the open state of the already open drawer or at least moves out just as far as this drawer, then in situations, in which the operator is not paying attention to the manipulation, the operator's fingers may be caught between the two front parts of the drawers.

Against this background, the object of the invention is to optimize the operating mode of the inventive furniture article.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Since the energy supply unit, in particular the electric power supply unit in a furniture article, is mounted on the first furniture part, in particular on the body of the furniture article, it is guaranteed that the power supply is arranged in the vicinity of the furniture part that is to be moved, in particular in the vicinity of the displaceable drawer. Thus, the cabling complexity is minimized. If at this stage malfunctions occur between the electric power supply unit and the moveable furniture part, then the analysis of the malfunctions is also minimized by the negligible cabling complexity. The furniture part, which can be moved or rather driven, may also be a door or a flap.

The use of an electric power supply unit as the energy supply unit is an option, especially because today almost all private households as well as commercial buildings exhibit a suitable supply of energy.

In order to protect the energy or rather power supply unit from external influences, it is advantageously provided that the energy or power supply unit is disposed in a separate case on the first furniture part—in the case of a furniture body, for example, in a trough configured in said body.

In this case it has proven to be advantageous to dispose the energy or power supply unit in a separate case in the bottom of this first furniture part. In the event that the energy or power supply unit is serviced or repaired, this unit is easy to access in said furniture part. In order to access the energy supply unit, the entire furniture article does not have to be moved; it suffices to remove just the front cover on the bottom of the first furniture part.

As an alternative, it is, of course, possible to mount the energy or power supply unit on the rear wall of the first furniture part. Owing to this measure it is also not visibly mounted in the use position of the furniture article.

In this respect it may be advisable to mount the energy supply unit between the rear wall of the first furniture part and the displaceable, second furniture part. In this case the power supply unit would also be easy to access, for example, for maintenance and repair work, because the second furniture part, which can be displaced or rather moved, is pulled out of the first furniture part—in particular, a drawer is pulled out of a furniture body.

According to an additional idea of the invention, it has proven to be advantageous to design the case so as to be moisture-tight in relation to the first furniture part. Owing to this measure, the energy supply unit is protected in moist rooms against splash water or any other source of moisture.

In this case it has proven to be advantageous to arrange in a simple way a seal between the case and the first furniture part.

According to an additional embodiment of the invention, the energy or rather power supply unit exhibits an energy accumulator, in particular a battery. This measure guarantees that in the event that the energy supply fails, in particular the power grid fails, the moveable second furniture part can continue to be moved by motor drive inside the first furniture part.

According to an independent idea of the invention, a furniture article has a control unit, which stops a moveable furniture part from moving from a starting position into a final position, when its path of motion is already occupied by a moveable furniture part, or which stops a moveable furniture part from moving from a starting position into a final position, before it was moved as far as an immediately adjacent moveable furniture part, which is already in an open position.

A starting position is typically defined as either a closed position or an open position. Similarly the final position may also be defined as a closed or open position of the furniture part. In any case the starting position and the final position refer to those positions of the furniture part before and after an event of motion.

The control unit is designed to actuate and adjust by motor drive both moveable furniture parts. If the furniture parts that are to be moved are provided, for example, as drawers that can be pulled out, then the control unit causes the respective pull-out positions of adjacent drawers always to be at different locations that do not overlap spatially.

In particular, it is provided during a travel motion that the pull-out position of a furniture part is always larger than that of the adjacent furniture part and also remains larger than that of the adjacent furniture part. Inversely it can also be provided that two drawers, which are located at different pull-out positions, can be moved by means of the control unit only in such a way that the distance between each other in the direction of the travel motion is always above a bottom limit value. This limit value may be, for example, in a magnitude of dimensions of human limbs, such as a finger width.

The control unit is designed in such a manner that it may not fall below the present minimum distance between two adjacent furniture parts. Such a measure provides effective anti-pinch protection, before a pinch event can even occur.

The control unit can stop a moveable furniture part from moving from its closed position into an open position, before it was moved as far as an immediately adjacent moveable furniture part, which is already in an open position.

Such a measure is an effective precaution against injuries, because the movement paths do not overlap at any time and/or because adjacent moveable furniture parts are never moved so far that there is a risk of injury, for example, caused by crushing the fingers. Furthermore, such a measure prevents collisions from occurring and, thus, damage to the individual moveable furniture parts. The moveable and/or driven furniture parts can be drawers, doors and/or flaps. The moveable furniture parts may be assigned to a joint first furniture part, in particular a body, or may be assigned, separated from each other, to a plurality of furniture parts and/or bodies.

In particular it has proven to be advantageous for the control unit to be designed to stop drawers, which are immediately adjacent in the horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, from travelling in succession as far as to the same travel path. Owing to this measure it can never occur that parts of the operator's body, in particular the fingers, are pinched while moving the drawers, because the travel of the drawer is stopped before the risk of getting pinched can occur.

According to another idea of the invention, it has proven to be advantageous to design the control unit to stop a drawer from travelling when its path of travel is already occupied by an open drawer. This design of the invention is especially advantageous for a furniture article that is placed diagonally and exhibits drawers, the travel path of which runs at an angle of ≠0 deg. on the same level. In this way it is guaranteed that the opening of a drawer is prevented, when another drawer on the same level is already in an open position. Furthermore, this measure also prevents collisions from occurring and, thus, damage to individual drawers.

Therefore, it is possible to provide a control unit for the entire furniture article with its moveable furniture parts. In this case there is a central control unit, which controls and/or coordinates all of the movements of the moveable furniture parts.

As an alternative, it is, of course, also possible to provide each moveable furniture part of the furniture article with its own control unit. In this case there is an evaluating unit, with which the control units of the individual moveable furniture parts communicate, so that owing to the evaluating unit the movements of the individual moveable furniture parts are coordinated.

According to an additional advantageous design of the invention, the control unit of the furniture article and/or the control units of the individual drawers is/are designed to allow a simultaneous and uniform opening or closing of the drawers, which are immediately adjacent in the vertical, horizontal or diagonal direction. In this case the drawers are moved uniformly (that is, at the same speed) so that the front covers of these adjacent drawers are always on the same level, thus ruling out the risk of injury caused by crushing.

Insofar as the drawer is a so-called exterior drawer, the front of which extends at least as far as the front of at least one adjacent drawer, one advantageous design of the invention provides that the control unit of the furniture article and/or the control units of the individual drawers is/are designed to achieve the purpose that upon opening, the exterior drawer of at least one adjacent drawer leads and preferably trails behind upon closing. This measure guarantees that the exterior drawer will not collide with the at least one adjacent drawer, which is also called the interior drawer.

An alternative embodiment of the invention can also provide in the case of an exterior drawer, the front of which extends at least as far as to the front of at least one adjacent drawer, that the control unit of the furniture article and/or the control units of the individual drawers is/are designed so as to move the exterior drawer into its open position, before an opening and/or closing of at least one adjacent drawer takes place. This measure also prevents the exterior drawer from colliding with the at least one adjacent drawer.

In this respect it is also advisable to design the control unit of the furniture article and/or the control units of the individual drawers in such a manner that the exterior drawer is not moved into its closed position until the at least one adjacent drawer is already located in its closed position. Since the at least one adjacent drawer moves only when the exterior drawer is located in its open position or closed position, it is possible to prevent by especially simple engineering means that collisions will occur between the drawers.

An additional advantageous embodiment of the invention provides at least one light control unit for the moveable furniture parts. Thus, depending on the opening or closing state, the drawer can be illuminated for better inspection. This measure can also be implemented as an independent idea of the invention.

In this case it is advisable to provide a separate light control unit for each movable furniture part. In this way the respective furniture part can be controlled in an especially flexible way with respect to its illumination.

Therefore, it has proven to be advantageous to mount the light control units for the moveable furniture parts on the moveable furniture parts themselves.

Furthermore, it has proven to be advantageous for the light control unit of the individual moveable furniture parts to exhibit interfaces for attaching a lighting means. This measure minimizes the cabling complexity at the moveable furniture part for illuminating the moveable furniture part.

Upon opening the moveable furniture part, the light control unit is designed advantageously for switching on the light, and upon closing the moveable furniture part, said light control unit is designed advantageously for switching off the light, when the moveable furniture part was moved a predefined distance. Owing to this measure the moveable furniture part is not illuminated until after it was moved so far that it is possible to remove objects out of or to put objects into the furniture part. Inversely, upon closing, the illumination is switched off early. This measure also allows once more the energy consumption to be minimized.

Similarly in order to minimize the energy consumption, it is provided that the light control unit is provided with a twilight sensor. If, in particular, an external light source is sufficiently adequate to guarantee a reliable and adequate inspection, then it is not necessary to switch on the light source.

Furthermore, it has proven to be advantageous to provide the light control unit with a dimmer, so that a sudden switching on of the light source cannot occur, a state that could result in a momentary blinding of the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other goals, advantages, features and possible applications of the present invention are disclosed in the following description of the embodiments with reference to the drawings. All of the described and/or depicted features form by themselves individually or in any logical combination the subject matter of the present invention, even independently of their summary in the claims or their references.

FIG. 1 is a front view of one embodiment of an inventive furniture article with power supply units, mounted on the bottom of said furniture article, without the associated furniture base,

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the furniture article in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 depicts a drawer of the inventive furniture article, according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of an additional embodiment of the inventive furniture article comprising an exterior drawer and an interior drawer, and

FIG. 5 is a top view of a schematic rendering of another embodiment of the inventive furniture article comprising furniture parts that are arranged at right angles to each other.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts one embodiment of an inventive furniture article 11. In this case the furniture article 11 consists in essence of the body 1 as well as the drawers 2, which are mounted so as to slide in the said body. In order to slide the drawers, there are electric drives 3, which are provided by means of switching power supplies 4, which are housed in a moisture-tight case, with electric energy for sliding the drawers. In this case the switching power supplies 4 are fed with electric energy by way of a power line 5. In order to be able to continue to move the drawers by motor drive in the event of a power failure, optionally batteries are also housed inside the case of the switching power supply 4.

The electric drive 3 is connected to the switching power supplies 4 and/or the batteries by means of a cable harness 6, shown in FIG. 2. In this case the cable harness can also be designed as a bus system.

Furthermore, there is a control unit (not illustrated), which coordinates the displacement of the drawers. Owing to the control unit the system is configured in such a way that the drawers, which are immediately adjacent in the horizontal, diagonal, or vertical direction, are stopped from moving one after the other as far as to the same travel path. This measure guarantees that two horizontally, vertically or diagonally adjacent drawers will never move in succession as far as the same open position. Hence, the risk of injuring the operator by crushing between the front covers 8 of the adjacent drawers is effectively avoided.

Instead of a central control unit, it is also possible to provide for each drawer a separate control unit, which communicates with a central evaluating unit. In this case, too, it is guaranteed that the inventive furniture article 11 will work properly.

Therefore, the evaluating unit and the control unit can be connected, just like the energy supply units, to an existing bus system (not illustrated). In this case the bus system can exhibit a data bus and a power bus.

As the figures, especially FIG. 3, show, each drawer 2 is provided with its own drive 3. This drive 3 acts on a push rod 10, arranged in the guide rail 9 of the drawer 2.

In order to guarantee that the drawer 2 will travel uniformly inside the body 1 without tilting, the drive 3 drives the drawer at both the right and the left guide rail of the drawer. The movement of the drive is uniformly distributed between both guide rails 9 and/or push rods 10 by means of a drive shaft 12.

Light control units may be mounted inside the drawers 2. These light control units may also be driven by the bus system (not illustrated). The light control units may be provided with a variety of lighting means by way of suitable interfaces. These lighting means may be, for example, energy saving light emitting diodes, light intensive halogen lamps or similar lighting means.

FIG. 4 shows an additional embodiment of an inventive furniture article 11′ comprising at least 3 drawers 13, 14, 15, which can be displaced in relation to a body 16. In this case at least the drawers 13 and 14 can be moved by motor drive. The drawer 13 is a so-called exterior drawer, the front 17 of which extends at least as far as the front of the drawer 14, which is also called the interior drawer. In order to prevent at this point a collision between the interior drawer 14 and the exterior drawer 13 upon opening and/or closing, the control unit (not illustrated in this drawing) of the furniture article 11′ and/or the control units (not illustrated in this drawing) of the two drawers 13 and 14 is/are designed in such a way that upon opening, the exterior drawer 13 leads ahead of the interior drawer 14, and upon closing, said exterior drawer trails behind said interior drawer.

As an alternative, the control unit (not illustrated) of the furniture article 11′ and/or the control units (not illustrated) of the two drawers 13, 14 can be designed for the purpose of moving the exterior drawer 13 into its open position, before an opening and/or closing of the interior drawer 14 takes place. In addition, the exterior drawer 13 is not moved into its closed position until the interior drawer 14 is already in its closed position.

Hence, the drawer 15 can be displaced independently of the exterior drawer 13, because the front 17 of the exterior drawer 13 does not project into the travel path of the drawer 15, and, thus, a collision between the two drawers cannot occur. In order, however, to avoid injuries, such as crushing of the fingers, upon opening and/or closing the drawers 13 and 15, the control unit (not illustrated) for the drawers 13, 15 is designed in such a manner that an opening and/or moving is executed in accordance with the drawers 2 of the embodiment in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of an inventive furniture article 11″. The distinction between this embodiment and the furniture article 11, according to FIG. 1, lies, inter alia, in the fact that at least two drawers 19, 20 are arranged at right angles to each other. Therefore, the drawers 19, 20 can be displaced in a body 21, 22. In addition, the furniture article 11″ exhibits adjacent to the body 22 an additional body 23 comprising at least one drawer 24. In this case the body 23 is immediately adjacent to the body 22. Owing to the selected arrangement of the drawers 19, 20 and 24 in this case, it could happen that upon opening there is a collision between the drawers 19 and 20 and/or 19 and 24. In order to prevent this, the control unit (not illustrated) of the furniture article 11″ and/or the control units (not illustrated) of the individual drawers 19, 20, 24 is/are designed for the purpose of stopping the drawer 19 from travelling, when its travel path is already occupied by the drawer 20 or the drawer 24 in an open position. The travel of the drawers 20 and 24 is also suppressed, when their travel path is already occupied by the drawer 19.

While preferred embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated here, various changes, substitutions and modifications to the described embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without thereby departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   1 body -   2 drawer -   3 drive -   4 switching power supply -   5 power line -   6 cable harness -   8 drawer front -   9 guide rail -   10 push rod -   11, 11′, 11″ furniture article -   12 drive shaft -   13 drawer, exterior drawer -   14 drawer, interior drawer -   15 drawer -   16 body -   17 drawer front -   18 drawer front -   19 drawer -   20 drawer -   21 body -   22 body -   23 body -   24 drawer 

1-25. (canceled)
 26. A furniture article, comprising: a first furniture part defining a body (1; 16; 21, 22, 23); at least one second furniture part, which can be motor-driven in relation to the first furniture part, wherein said second furniture part comprises at least one drawer (2; 13, 14, 15; 19, 20, 24) that can be displaced in relation to the body; and at least one electric power supply unit (4) housed in the first furniture part in a separate portion than the second furniture part.
 27. The furniture article as claimed in claim 26, wherein that the electric power supply unit is disposed in a separate case in the bottom of the first furniture part.
 28. The furniture article as claimed in claim 27, wherein the separate case is designed moisture-tight in relation to the first furniture part.
 29. The furniture article as claimed in claim 27, wherein a seal is arranged between the case and the first furniture part.
 30. The furniture article as claimed in claim 26, wherein the electric power supply unit is mounted on a rear wall of the first furniture part.
 31. The furniture article as claimed in claim 30, characterized in that the electric power supply unit is arranged between the rear wall of the first furniture part and the second furniture part.
 32. The furniture article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the electric power supply unit comprises an energy accumulator, such as a battery.
 33. A furniture article, comprising: at least one first furniture part defining at least one body (1; 16; 21, 22, 23); at least two drawers (2; 13, 14, 15; 19, 20, 24) which can be motor-driven in relation to the at least one first furniture part; at least one drive unit (3) for the at least two drawers; and one or more control units, which stops a first of the at least two drawers from moving from a starting position into a final position, when its path of motion is already occupied by a second of the at least two drawers.
 34. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein the control unit is designed to stop drawers, which are located immediately adjacent in the horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction, from traveling in succession as far as to the same travel path.
 35. The furniture article, as claimed in claim 33, wherein the control unit is designed to stop the first of the at least two drawers (19; 20, 24) from traveling, when its travel path is already occupied by the second of the at least two drawers (20, 24; 19) when said second of the at least two drawers is open.
 36. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein the one or more control units comprises a single control unit for the entire furniture article comprising its moveable drawers.
 37. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein the one or more control units comprises separate control units wherein each drawer is provided with its own control unit.
 38. The furniture article as claimed in claim 37, further comprising at least one evaluating unit, with which the control units of the individual drawers communicate.
 39. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein the control unit of the furniture article and/or the control units of the drawers is/are designed to allow a simultaneous and uniform opening or closing of the drawers, which are immediately adjacent in the vertical or horizontal direction.
 40. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein in the case of an exterior drawer (13), the front (17) of which extends at least as far as the front (18) of at least one adjacent drawer (14), the control unit of the furniture article (11′) and/or the control units of the individual drawers (13, 14) is/are designed so that the exterior drawer (13) of at least one adjacent drawer (14) leads upon opening and follows upon closing.
 41. The furniture article as claimed in claim 33, wherein in the case of an exterior drawer (13), the front (17) of which extends at least as far as to the front (18) of at least one adjacent drawer (14), the control unit of the furniture article (11′) and/or the control units of the individual drawers (13, 14) is/are designed so as to move the exterior drawer (13) into its open position, before an opening and/or closing of at least one adjacent drawer (14).
 42. The furniture article as claimed in claim 37, wherein the control units of the individual drawers (13, 14) is/are designed in such a manner that the exterior drawer (13) is not moved into its closed position until the at least one adjacent drawer (14) is already located in its closed position.
 43. A furniture article, comprising: at least one first furniture part defining at least one body (1; 16; 21, 22, 23); at least one second furniture part (2; 13, 14, 15; 19, 20, 24) that is moveable in relation to the at least one first furniture part and can be displaced in relation to the at least one body; at least one drive unit (3); and at least one light control unit to control a light to light the at least one second furniture part.
 44. The furniture article as claimed in claim 43, wherein the at least one light control unit comprises separate light control units for each moveable second furniture part.
 45. The furniture article as claimed in claim 44, wherein the light control units are mounted on the moveable second furniture parts.
 46. The furniture article as claimed in claim 45, wherein the light control units include interfaces for attaching a lighting means.
 47. The furniture article as claimed in claim 44, wherein the light control unit is designed for switching on the lighting means when the moveable second furniture part is moved a predefined distance or a predefined time.
 48. The furniture article as claimed in claim 44, wherein the light control unit includes a twilight sensor.
 49. The furniture article as claimed in claim 44, wherein the light control unit includes a dimmer unit. 